Bandai Namco’s gritty re-imagining of its iconic Pac-Man IP, the upcoming 2D platformer Shadow Labyrinth, is set to show off the lovable yellow puck in a whole new light when it launches on 17 July this year.
To coincide with its release announcement, a new trailer for the game has also dropped, teasing snippets of its gameplay, plot and the massive robotic mech GAIA, a powerful alternate form that players will be able to obtain throughout the course of the game. Check out the edgy, action-packed trailer below:
Shadow Labyrinth’s latest trailer shows off more of the title’s core gameplay mechanics, emcompassing both platforming sections and combat encounters. Various boss fights are also shown, featuring all manner of beasts like a giant tortoise-like dragon, mutated plants or more technologically advanced monstrosities like a similarly puck-shaped mech infected by slime.
To combat these challenges, the game’s protagonist, Swordsman No. 8, will need to obtain greater armaments of his own, with the trailer showing him consuming the afformentioned mech boss with the help of his floating companion Puck, obtaining the powers of the GAIA mech in return. Using this ability, he can inflict devastating damage on enemies, especially vital when facing the game’s larger bosses. GAIA isn’t the only form available though, as the trailer also shows a better look at his Mini Puck mode, which fuses Swordsman No. 8 and Puck, allowing players to explore small areas and ride rails reminiscent of the classic arcade game.
Alongside teasing challenging platforming sections and brief snippets of its narrative, the game’s trailer also shows a glimpse of its progression system, centred around the consumption of enemies and other objects in the environment to gain Ora, the game’s currency, as well as monster specific materials. By spending a combination of the two, players will obtain perks like damage resistance, the ability to perform air attacks or one that drastically increases Ora earned but will be lost upon death.
As a stark departure from Pac-Man’s simple arcade score-attack roots, Shadow Labyrinth looks to bring the classic franchise to the modern era with its platformer mechanics, combining reaction-time-based platforming, puzzles and challenging combat encounters with exploration akin to Metroidvania titles, wrapped up in a story that doesn’t just draw inspiration from Pac-Man, but also other franchises in Bandai Namco’s library of arcade and space-themed games.
Shadow Labyrinth is slated for release on 17 July 2025 for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with a PC release on Steam launching one day after on 18 July.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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